Made of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope, an inflatable tent can be used as a shelter or for promotion, or for other applications, such as military use.

A small tent can be independently standing or attached to the ground, while a larger one are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs. First used as portable homes by nomadic peoples, tents are now more often used for recreational camping and temporary shelters.

Tents range in size from "bivouac" structures just big enough for one person to sleep in up to huge (circus) tents capable of seating thousands of people. The bulk of this article is concerned with tents used for recreational camping which have sleeping space for one to ten people. Larger tents are discussed in a separate section below.

Tents for recreational camping fall into two categories. Tents intended to be carried by backpackers are the smallest and lightest type. Smaller tents may be sufficiently light that they can be carried for long distances on a touring bicycle, a boat, or even a person's back. The military organizations of most nations use such tents to temporarily house troops living and working under field conditions.